Method for operating relation server and system using the same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are a method for operating a relation server and a system using the method. The method for operating the relation server for managing relations between machines includes generating, by the relation server, a capability set required to execute a command by analyzing the command, and grouping, by the relation server, machines that are to execute the command, among the machines, based on the generated capability set, and capability parameters and status parameters of respective machines that have been previously registered in the relation server or that are extractable by the relation server.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos.10-2014-0151328, filed Nov. 3, 2014, 10-2014-0151327, filed Nov. 3,2014, 10-2015-0011217, filed Jan. 23, 2015, 10-2015-0093338, filed Jun.30, 2015, 10-2015-0145571, filed Oct. 19, 2015 and 10-2015-0153925,filed Nov. 3, 2015 which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety into this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field

Embodiments based on the concept of the present invention generallyrelate to a method for operating a relation server and a system usingthe method and, more particularly, to a method for operating a relationserver and a system using the method, which manage relations betweenmachines that are required in order to execute an externally receivedcommand.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, systems for connecting machines through a network and sharinginformation between the machines have been applied to various fields,such as health care, telemetry, smart homes, and smart cars, as well ashousehold appliances and electronic devices.

Therefore, when various machines form collaborative relations, methodsfor managing the relations between the machines are required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind theabove problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the presentinvention is to provide a method for operating a relation server and asystem using the method, which manage relations between machines thatare required in order to execute externally received commands.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention to accomplish theabove object, there is provided a method for operating a relationserver, the relation server managing relations between machines,including generating, by the relation server, a capability set requiredto execute a command by analyzing the command, and grouping, by therelation server, machines that are to execute the command, among themachines, based on the generated capability set, and capabilityparameters and status parameters of respective machines that have beenpreviously registered in the relation server or that are extractable bythe relation server.

Each of the capability parameters may include sub-parameters related toat least one of a title of an executable process, an input parameter, anoutput parameter, a process processing time, process processingconditions, and executable functions.

Each of the status parameters may include sub-parameters related to atleast one of a current active state, current availability orunavailability, a current process, a scheduled termination time for thecurrent process state, a currently executed function, and a scheduledtermination time of the currently executed function.

A machine profile including information about each of the machines mayinclude a capability parameter and a status parameter, and the machineprofile may further include at least one of a machine ID parameter, auser ID parameter, a group ID parameter, a machine operating systemparameter, and a machine interface parameter.

The machine operating system parameter may include sub-parametersrelated to a type and a version of an operating system used by each ofthe machines.

The machine interface parameter may include sub-parameters related tointerfaces and interface protocols between the machines, and interfacesand interface protocols between each machine and the relation server.

The method may further include forming relations between the groupedmachines based on the capability set, capability parameters and statusparameters of the respective grouped machines.

The relations may include information about the grouped machines andinformation about a task processing schedule of the grouped machines.

The method may further include generating, by the relation server, arelation profile based on the relations.

The relation profile may include at least one of a capability setparameter, grouped machine parameters, a work group ID parameter, a taskdescription parameter, and a task processing schedule parameter.

The task processing schedule parameter may include sub-parametersrelated to at least one of a process start time of each process, processstart conditions, machine IDs of allocated machines, functions that areused, a start time of each of the functions, a predicted processtermination time, interface parameters, and process terminationconditions.

The method may further include operating, by the relation server, thegrouped machines according to a task processing schedule included in therelation profile.

The method may further include, after completing the execution of thecommand, releasing, by the relation server.

The method may further include requesting, by the relation server, anintervention of a user based on processes included in the relationprofile.

The intervention of the user may include an approval or a selection ofthe user related to an execution of the process.

The method may further include re-grouping, by the relation server, themachines according to the approval or the selection of the user, andforming, by the relation server, new relations between the re-groupedmachines.

The method may further include generating, by the relation server, a newrelation profile based on the new relations.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention to accomplishthe above object, there is provided a system, comprising multiplemachines, and a relation server for managing relations between themultiple machines, wherein the relation server generates a capabilityset required to execute a command by analyzing the command, and groupsmachines that are to execute the command, among the machines, based onthe generated capability set, and capability parameters and statusparameters of respective machines that have been previously registeredin the relation server or that are extractable by the relation server.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a system according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a scenario that can be applied tothe system of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Specific structural or functional descriptions related to embodimentsbased on the concept of the present invention and disclosed in thepresent specification are merely illustrated to describe embodimentsbased on the concept of the present invention, and the embodiments basedon the concept of the present invention may be implemented in variousforms and should not be interpreted as being limited to the aboveembodiments described in the present specification.

The embodiments based on the concept of the present invention may bemodified in various manners and may have various forms, so thatembodiments are intended to be illustrated in the drawings and describedin detail in the present specification. However, it should be understoodthat those embodiments are not intended to limit the embodiments basedon the concept of the present invention to specific disclosure forms andthey include all changes, equivalents or modifications included in thespirit and scope of the present invention.

The terms such as “first” or “second” may be used to describe variouscomponents, but those components should not be limited by the terms. Theterms are merely used to distinguish one component from othercomponents, and a first component may be designated as a secondcomponent and a second component may be designated as a first componentin the similar manner, without departing from the scope based on theconcept of the present invention.

It should be understood that a representation indicating that a firstcomponent is “connected” or “coupled” to a second component may includethe case where the first component is connected or coupled to the secondcomponent with some other component interposed therebetween, as well asthe case where the first component is “directly connected” or “directlycoupled” to the second component. In contrast, it should be understoodthat a representation indicating that a first component is “directlyconnected” or “directly coupled” to a second component means that nocomponent is interposed between the first and second components. Otherrepresentations describing relationships among components, that is,“between” and “directly between” or “adjacent to,” and “directlyadjacent to,” should be interpreted in similar manners.

The terms used in the present specification are merely used to describespecific embodiments and are not intended to limit the presentinvention. A singular expression includes a plural expression unless adescription to the contrary is specifically pointed out in context. Inthe present specification, it should be understood that the terms suchas “include” or “have” are merely intended to indicate that features,numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereofthat are described in the present specification are present, and are notintended to exclude a possibility that one or more other features,numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereofwill be present or added.

Unless differently defined, all terms used here including technical orscientific terms have the same meanings as the terms generallyunderstood by those skilled in the art to which the present inventionpertains. The terms identical to those defined in generally useddictionaries should be interpreted as having meanings identical tocontextual meanings of the related art, and are not interpreted as beingideal or excessively formal meanings unless they are definitely definedin the present specification.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention may include multiple machines 101, 102, 105, and 106,and a relation server 104.

In FIG. 1, for the convenience of description, a user 103 is showntogether with the above components, and may be a user or a userterminal.

Although four machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 are illustrated in FIG. 1by way of example, the technical scope of the present invention shouldnot be construed as being limited to any specific number of machinesincluded in the system 100.

Each of multiple machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 may have its ownmachine profile.

The machine profile means data including various types of informationrelated to each machine 101, 102, 105, or 106. According to anembodiment, the machine profile may include at least one of theparameters of the machine profile presented in the following Table 1.Each of the machine profile parameters may include at least onesub-parameter.

In the present specification, the term “sub-parameter” may denote aparameter including detailed items for the corresponding parameter.

TABLE 1 Parameters of machine profile Sub-parameters Status Currentoperation (active) state Current availability or unavailability(standby) Current process Scheduled termination time of current processCurrently executed function Scheduled termination time of currentlyexecuted function Capability Title of process Input parameter Outputparameter Process processing time Process processing condition(s)Function 1 Function 2 . . . Function n Machine ID — User ID — Group ID —Machine operating Operating system type system Operating system versionMachine interface Interface protocol(s) between machines Interfaceparameter(s) between machines Interface protocol(s) between machines andrelation server Interface parameter(s) between machines and relationserver

Referring to Table 1, the sub-parameters of the status parameter mayinclude the current active state of each of the machines 101, 102, 105,and 106, information about whether each of the machines 101, 102, 105,and 106 is currently available or unavailable (i.e. in a standby state),a current process, a scheduled termination time of the current process,the currently executed function, and the scheduled termination time ofthe currently executed function.

The currently executed function may denote the function that iscurrently being executed among various functions that are executed inorder to perform a single process. For example, the currently executedfunction may be a function such as ‘washing’, ‘rinsing’, or‘spin-drying’, performed for the process ‘laundering’.

The sub-parameters of the capability parameter may include the title ofa process, which can be processed by each of the machines 101, 102, 105,and 106, an input parameter, an output parameter, a process processingtime, a process processing condition, and multiple functions related tothe executable task (function 1, function 2, function 3, . . . ,function n). The input parameter may refer to information that is inputin order to operate the corresponding machine, and the output parametermay refer to information that is output from the corresponding machinedepending on the results of operation.

The machine ID parameter denotes a unique identifier allocated to eachof the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 to identify each of the machines101, 102, 105, and 106.

The user ID parameter denotes a unique identifier allocated to a userwho is capable of utilizing each of the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106.

The group ID parameter denotes a unique identifier allocated to a usergroup (e.g. members of a family, members of a specific company, etc.)that is capable of utilizing each of the machines 101, 102, 105, and106.

The sub-parameters of the machine operating system (OS) parameter mayinclude the type and version of the OS that is used by each of themachines 101, 102, 105, and 106.

The sub-parameters of the machine interface parameter may includeinterface protocols between the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106,interface parameters between the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106,interface protocols between each machine 101, 102, 105, or 106 and therelation server 104, and interface parameters between each machine 101,102, 105, or 106 and the relation server 104.

In accordance with an embodiment, the machine profile may be defined andimplemented in the form of a schema having a hierarchical structure.That is, the machine profile may be defined and implemented as a datastructure having a structure system such as that given in Table 1. Inthis case, the machine profile may further include a tag, indicating thelast portion of each parameter (or machine profile), in the last portionof each parameter (or the last portion of the machine profile).

The system 100 of FIG. 1 is a centralized system in which the machines101, 102, 105, and 106 are grouped by the relation server 104 and thesequence of the operations of the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 isdesignated.

The relation server 104 may perform a grouping for the machines thathave been previously registered in the relation server 104 or that areextractable (that is, capable of being selected) by a communication withthe relation server 104 among various machines.

The relation server 104 may generate a capability set required toexecute a command by analyzing the command input from the user 103, andmay group the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 based on the generatedcapability set and the machine profiles of the machines 101, 102, 105,and 106, for example, capability parameters and status parameters.

In the present specification, the term ‘analysis of a command’ may beused interchangeably with the term ‘analysis of a task corresponding toa command’.

According to an embodiment, the relation server 104 may form relationsbetween the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106, based on the capabilityset, the capability parameters and the status parameters of therespective machines 101, 102, 105, and 106, and generate a relationprofile based on the relations. The generated relation profile may bestored in the relation server 104 or a storage space associated with therelation server 104.

The term ‘relation’ in the present specification may mean a conceptincluding not only machines (i.e. a machine group) associated tocollaborate with each other on a process, but also a task processingschedule (e.g. the sequence of operations, a task collaborativerelation, etc.) required to allow the machines to perform the process.

According to an embodiment, the present invention may further include aprocedure in which the relation server 104 analyzes the command usingthe data prestored in the relation server 104 or in the storage spaceassociated with the relation server 104 when the relation profile isgenerated. In this case, the relation server 104 may form the relationsbetween the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 based on the analyzedcommand and the capability parameters and the status parameters of therespective machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 and may generate a relationprofile based on the relations.

According to an embodiment, the relation server 104 may request anintervention of a user to the user 103 according to the processesincluded in the relation profile. The intervention of the user mayinclude an approval or a selection of the user related to an executionof the processes. In this case, the user 103 may transmit a result ofthe approval for all of the processes or the selection for a part of theprocesses to the relation server 104, by responding to the request fromthe relation server 104. The said user intervention step may beperformed at various times according to an embodiment. For example, theintervention of the user may be performed after the relation profile isgenerated or be performed before an addition work is conducted.

According to another embodiment, the relation server 104 may request theintervention of the user to the user 103 only when a process result ofthe processes included in the relation profile make a critical effect onthe user 103.

The relation server 104 may re-group the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106according to the intervention (e.g. the approval of the selection) ofthe user 103, and may generate a new relations of the re-groupedmachines. And, the relation server 104 may generate a new relationprofile according to the new relations.

According to an embodiment, relation profile may include at least one ofthe parameters presented in the following Table 2. Each of theparameters of the relation profile may include at least onesub-parameter.

The term “task” in the present specification may mean a set of processes(or functions) that need to be performed based on the results ofanalyzing the command input from the user 103. And, the term “relationprofile” in the present specification may broadly mean data representingrelations formed to perform a task.

TABLE 2 Parameters of relation profile Sub-parameters Capability setCapability 1 . . . Capability n Grouped machines Machine ID 1 . . .Machine ID n Work group ID — Task description — Task processing scheduleProcess 1 Process start time Process start condition(s) Allocatedmachine ID Start time of function 1 Function 1 . . . Start time offunction n function n Predicted termination time of process 1 Interfaceparameter Termination condition(s) of process 1 . . . Process n Processstart time Process start condition(s) Allocated machine ID Start time offunction 1 function 1 . . . Start time of function n Function nPredicted termination time of process n Interface parameters Terminationcondition(s) of process n

Referring to Table 2, the parameters of the relation profile may includea capability set parameter, grouped machine parameters, a work group IDparameter, a task description parameter, a task processing scheduleparameter, etc.

The capability set parameter may include information about capabilityparameters, which are required for relevant task, and machines may begrouped based on the capability set parameters.

The grouped machine parameters may include information about the machineIDs (machine ID 1, . . . , machine ID n) of machines grouped to performthe relevant task.

The work group ID parameter may denote the ID required to identify theentire group of the grouped machines.

The task description parameter may include various types of additionalinformation related to the relevant task. For example, the taskdescription parameter may include details about the tasks for therelevant task in the form of text.

The task processing schedule parameter may include relations (e.g. aprocessing sequence) between multiple processes (process 1, . . . ,process n) and sub-parameters related to the respective processes(process 1, . . . , process n).

According to an embodiment, the sub-parameters of the task processingschedule parameter may include the process start time of each process,the start condition(s) of each process, the machine IDs of machinesallocated, the functions used, the start time of each of the functions,the predicted termination time of the process, interface parameters, thetermination condition(s) of the process, etc.

According to an embodiment, the relation profile may be defined andimplemented in the form of a schema having a hierarchical structure.That is, the relation profile may be defined and implemented as a datastructure having a structure system, such as that given in Table 2. Inthis case, the relation profile may further include a tag, indicatingthe last portion of each parameter (or the relation profile), in thelast portion of each parameter (or the last portion of the relationprofile).

In the present specification, the term “capability set” may be used as aconcept having a level which is equivalent to the task. For example,work, that is, a capability set corresponding to a task, such as“housework” may be composed of processes (or functions) such as“cleaning”, “doing the dishes”, and “doing the laundry”.

According to an embodiment, the relation server 104 may list the machineID parameters of the respective machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 groupedto execute the command and arrange the listed machine ID parametersaccording to the sequence of operations suitable for the execution ofthe command.

In this case, in the arrangement corresponding to the operationsequence, the status parameters of respective machines 101, 102, 105,and 106 may be taken into consideration. For example, when a relevantmachine is found to be currently in an active state using thesub-parameters of the machine 101, 102, 105, or 106, the sequence ofoperations may be arranged in consideration of available times using thescheduled termination time parameter for the current active state.

For example, when a relevant machine is found to be currently in anavailable state using the sub-parameter indicating current availabilityor unavailability (standby state), among the sub-parameters of themachine 101, 102, 105, or 106, the operations of the machines may bearranged according to the sequence most suitable for the execution ofthe command.

According to the determined operation sequence, the relation server 104may execute the command received from the user 103 by requesting each ofthe machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 to perform process.

In the system 100 of FIG. 1, the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 may beentirely controlled by the relation server 104, and thus the machines101, 102, 105, and 106 do not need to exchange data with each other.

The relation server 104 is not limited as to the location or formthereof as long as it is capable of communicating with the machines 101,102, 105, and 106. For example, the relation server 104 may beimplemented using a smart phone.

The machine profiles of the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 may bepreviously registered in the relation server 104 and may be transmittedto the relation server 104 at the request of the relation server 104.According to an embodiment, when the machine profiles are previouslyregistered, the relation server 104 may fixedly store the capabilityparameters, machine ID parameters, user ID parameters, group IDparameters, machine operating system (OS) parameters, and machineinterface parameters, and may update the status parameters whilecommunicating with the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106.

The relation server 104 may always be maintained in the state in whichit is capable of communicating with the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106by setting interface protocols and protocol parameters to be used tocommunicate with the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 using the machineprofiles.

The method for operating the relation server 104 will be described ingreater detail with reference to the scenario of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a scenario that can be applied tothe system of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, it is assumed that, in FIG. 2, the firstmachine 101 is a movie search engine, the second machine 102 is a smartphone, the third machine 105 is a machine having a movie reservationfunction (e.g. a communication terminal in which a movie reservationapplication is installed), and the fourth machine 105 is a boilercontrol machine having a communication function.

The second machine 102 may receive a command, for example, a ‘movierecommendation’ command, from the user 103 at step S10. According to anembodiment, the command may be received via email, a social networkservice (SNS), or a messenger.

The second machine 102 may forward the command received from the user103 to the relation server 104 at step S12.

The relation server 104 may analyze the received command at step S14,and may generate a capability set required to execute the command basedon the results of the analysis and group the machines 101, 102, 105, and106, which will execute the command, based on the generated capabilityset, at step S16. For example, the relation server 104 may group themachines that may perform processes or functions included in thecapability set required to execute the command, based on the machineprofiles of the respective machines 101, 102, 105, and 106.

The relation server 104 may form relations between the machines 101,102, 105, and 106 based on the capability parameters and the statusparameters of the respective grouped machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 atstep S18.

According to an embodiment, the relation server 104 may utilize machineprofiles in which the capability parameters and the status parameters ofthe machines 101, 102, 105, and 106, which have been previouslyregistered in the relation server 104, are included.

According to another embodiment, the relation server 104 may also usemachine profiles acquired from a query that is transmitted from therelation server 104 to each of the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106.

The relation server 104 may generate a relation profile based on therelations formed between the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 at stepS20.

The relation server 104 may perform management so that the machines 101,102, 105, and 106 perform required operations at required timesdepending on the relation profile.

For example, the relation server 104 may set the sequence of operationsof the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106 based on the machine profiles(capability parameters, status parameters, etc.) of the respectivemachines 101, 102, 105, and 106, and may then arrange the machine IDsaccording to the set sequence and store the arranged machine IDs in therelation profile.

The relation server 104 may request the first machine 101 to search formovies using the stored relation profile at step S22.

In this case, the relation server 104 may request the first machine tosearch for movies based on information about movies that meet moviesearch conditions input by the user 103 (e.g. a movie title, a movietheater, a synopsis, a running time, or the like). According to anembodiment, the movie search conditions may be included in the commandinput from the user 103 at step S10.

The first machine 101 may transmit the found movie information to theuser 103 via the relation server 104 and the second machine 102 at stepsS24, S26, and S28.

The user 103 enters information about the determination to make areservation (e.g. the selected movie, the selected movie theater, themovie start time, the number of tickets to be reserved, etc.) inresponse to the found movie information, and may deliver the informationabout the determination to make a reservation (reservation determinationinformation) to the relation server 104 via the second machine 102 atsteps S30 and S32.

The relation server 104 may transmit a reservation request to the thirdmachine 105 based on the received reservation determination informationat step S34.

The third machine 105 may reserve a movie corresponding to thereservation determination information, and may transmit a paymentconfirmation request to the user 103 via the relation server 104 and thesecond machine 102 at steps S36, S38, and S40.

The user 103 may transmit payment confirmation to the third machine 105via the second machine 102 and the relation server 104 at steps S42,S44, and S46.

The third machine 105 may reserve the movie in response to paymentconfirmation from the user 103, and may provide notification of theresults of the reservation to the user 103 via the relation server 104and the second machine 102 at steps S48, S50, and S52.

The relation server 104 may transmit a request, which is required inorder to obtain the selection or approval of work that can beadditionally performed in compliance with the command of the user 103transmitted at step S10, to the user 103 at step S54.

According to an embodiment, the relation server 104 may transmitinformation about a list of additional works, information about machinesfor processing the additional works, and information about the sequence(or schedule), in which the additional works are to be processed, to theuser 103.

The user 103 may select and input additional works to be conducted, andmay transmit a command for selecting the input additional works to therelation server 104 at step S56.

The relation server 104 may analyze the additional work selectioncommand transmitted from the user 103 at step S58, generate a capabilityset required to execute the command based on the results of theanalysis, and re-group the machines 101, 102, 105, and 106, which willcollaborate in the performance of the additional works selected by theuser 103, based on the generated capability set, at step S60.

The relation server 104 may form new relations between the machines 101,102, 105, and 106 based on the capability parameters and the statusparameters of the respective re-grouped machines 101, 102, 105, and 106at step S62.

The relation server 104 may generate a new relation profile based on thenewly formed relations at step S64.

Thereafter, the relation server 104 may perform management so that thecorresponding machines perform required operations at required timesbased on the newly generated relation profile.

For example, the relation server 104 may schedule the operation of aboiler so that the boiler is driven via the fourth machine 106 inaccordance with the time at which the movie is to be terminated based onmovie reservation information at step S66.

According to an embodiment, after the execution of the command has beencompleted, the relation server 104 may release the formed relations anddelete the relation profile.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to theembodiments illustrated in the drawings, those skilled in the art willunderstand that various modifications and other equivalent embodimentsare possible from the above embodiments. Therefore, the technical scopeof the present invention should be defined by the technical spirit ofthe accompanying claims.

The method according to the embodiments may be implemented as a programthat can be executed by various computer means. In this case, theprogram may be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium. Thecomputer-readable storage medium may include program instructions, datafiles, and data structures solely or in combination. Programinstructions recorded on the storage medium may have been speciallydesigned and configured for the present disclosure, or may be known toor available to those who have ordinary knowledge in the field ofcomputer software. Examples of the computer-readable storage mediuminclude all types of hardware devices specially configured to record andexecute program instructions, such as magnetic media, such as a harddisk, a floppy disk, and magnetic tape, optical media, such as compactdisk (CD)-read only memory (ROM) and a digital versatile disk (DVD),magneto-optical media, such as a floptical disk, ROM, random accessmemory (RAM), and flash memory. Examples of the program instructionsinclude machine language code, such as code created by a compiler, andhigh-level language code executable by a computer using an interpreter.The hardware devices may be configured to operate as one or moresoftware modules in order to perform the operation of the presentdisclosure, and vice versa.

The method and system according to embodiments of the present inventionare advantageous in that machines to execute a command may be groupedbased on the capability parameters and the status parameters ofmachines, and optimal relations between the machines grouped to executethe command may be formed.

As described above, although the embodiments have been described withreference to a limited number of embodiments and drawings, those skilledin the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications arepossible from the above descriptions. For example, even if theabove-described technologies are performed in a sequence differing fromthat of the described method, and/or components such as a system, astructure, a device, and a circuit are coupled or combined in a waydiffering from that of the described method or are replaced with orsubstitute other components or equivalents, suitable results can beachieved.

Therefore, it should be understood that other embodiments and examplesand equivalents of the accompanying claims belong to the scope of theaccompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for operating a relation server, therelation server managing relations between machines, comprising:generating, by the relation server managing relations between machines,a capability set required to execute a task by analyzing the task,wherein the analyzing of the task comprises the relation serverdetermining a plurality of functions to perform the task based on acommand input from a user; grouping, by the relation server, machinesthat are to execute the task, among the machines, based on the generatedcapability set, and capability parameters and status parameters ofrespective machines that have been previously registered in the relationserver or that are extractable by the relation server; forming, by therelation server, relations between the grouped machines based on thecapability set, capability parameters and status parameters of therespective grouped machines; generating, by the relation server, arelation profile based on the relations between the grouped machines;and requesting, by the relation server, the grouped machines that are toexecute the task to perform the plurality of functions of the task,wherein the relations between the grouped machines include informationabout the grouped machines and a task processing schedule of processesnecessary to perform the task, the relation profile includes a taskprocessing schedule parameter, and the task processing scheduleparameter includes a process start time of at least one of processes. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein each of the capability parametersincludes sub-parameters related to at least one of a title of anexecutable process, an input parameter, an output parameter, a processprocessing time, process processing conditions, and executablefunctions, and each of the status parameters includes sub-parametersrelated to at least one of a current active state, current availabilityor unavailability, a current process, a scheduled termination time forthe current process state, a currently executed function, and ascheduled termination time of the currently executed function.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: a machine profile including informationabout each of the machines includes the capability parameter and thestatus parameter, and the machine profile further includes at least oneof a machine ID parameter, a user ID parameter, a group ID parameter, amachine operating system parameter, and a machine interface parameter.4. The method of claim 3, wherein the machine operating system parameterincludes sub-parameters related to a type and a version of an operatingsystem used by each of the machines, and the machine interface parameterincludes sub-parameters related to interfaces and interface protocolsbetween the machines, and interfaces and interface protocols betweeneach machine and the relation server.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe relation profile includes at least one of a capability setparameter, grouped machine parameters, a work group ID parameter, and atask description parameter.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the taskprocessing schedule parameter includes sub-parameters related to atleast one of process start condition of each of the processes, machineIDs of allocated machines, functions that are used, a start time of eachof the functions, a predicted process termination time of each of theprocesses, interface parameters, and process termination condition ofeach of the processes.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:operating, by the relation server, the grouped machines according to atask processing schedule included in the relation profile, andreleasing, by the relation server, the formed relations between thegrouped machines after completing the execution of the task.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: requesting, by the relationserver, an intervention of the user including an approval or a selectionof the user related to an execution of the process based on processesincluded in the relation profile, re-grouping, by the relation server,the machines according to the approval or the selection of the user;forming, by the relation server, new relations between the re-groupedmachines; and generating, by the relation server, a new relation profilebased on the new relations.
 9. A system, comprising: multiple machines;and a relation server for storing a relation profile including a taskprocessing schedule parameter which defines a sequence of performingmultiple processes, and for requesting the multiple machines to performthe multiple processes, wherein the relation server generates a newrelation profile based on an intervention by a user in the relationprofile, wherein the task processing schedule parameter configures astart time of at least one process of the multiple processes.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein: a first machine of the multiple machinesforwards a command received from the user to the relation server, andthe relation server controls the multiple machines for performing themultiple processes according to the command.
 11. The system of claim 9,wherein: the relation server stores multiple machine profiles of themultiple machines.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein: at least onemachine profile of the multiple machine profiles includes at least oneparameter of a status parameter, a capability parameter, a machineidentity parameter, a user identity parameter, a group identityparameter, a machine operating system parameter and a machine interfaceparameter.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein: The status parameterincludes at least one sub-parameter of a current operation statussub-parameter, a current availability sub-parameter, a current processsub-parameter, a scheduled termination time of current processsub-parameter, a current execution function sub-parameter and ascheduled termination time of currently executed function sub-parameter.14. The system of claim 12, wherein: the capability parameter includesat least one sub-parameter of a title of process sub-parameter, an inputparameter sub-parameter, an output parameter sub-parameter, a processprocessing time sub-parameter, a process processing conditionsub-parameter and a function sub-parameter.
 15. The system of claim 9,wherein: the task processing schedule parameter includes a sub-parameterconfiguring a start condition of at least one process of the multipleprocesses, or a sub-parameter configuring an allocated machine identityof at least one process of the multiple processes.
 16. A methodperformed by a relation server, comprising: storing a relation profileincluding a task processing schedule parameter which defines a sequenceof performing multiple processes; and requesting multiple machines toperform the multiple processes, wherein a new relation profile isgenerated based on an intervention by a user in the relation profile,wherein the task processing schedule parameter configures a start timeof at least one process of the multiple processes.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein: a first machine of the multiple machines forwards acommand received from the user to the relation server, and the relationserver controls the multiple machines for performing the multipleprocesses according to the command.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein:the relation server stores multiple machine profiles of the multiplemachines.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein: at least one machineprofile of the multiple machine profiles includes at least one parameterof a status parameter, a capability parameter, a machine identityparameter, a user identity parameter, a group identity parameter, amachine operating system parameter and a machine interface parameter.20. The method of claim 19, wherein: The status parameter includes atleast one sub-parameter of a current operation status sub-parameter, acurrent availability sub-parameter, a current process sub-parameter, ascheduled termination time of current process sub-parameter, a currentexecution function sub-parameter and a scheduled termination time ofcurrently executed function sub-parameter.
 21. The method of claim 19,wherein: the capability parameter includes at least one sub-parameter ofa title of process sub-parameter, an input parameter sub-parameter, aoutput parameter sub-parameter, a process processing time sub-parameter,a process processing condition sub-parameter and a functionsub-parameter.
 22. The method of claim 16, wherein: the task processingschedule parameter includes a sub-parameter configuring a startcondition of at least one process of the multiple processes, or asub-parameter configuring an allocated machine identity of at least oneprocess of the multiple processes.